Got my CVA Hawken >50 today ___HELP

[Good time Charlie]

Come on guys how large a patch for cleaning. I got my new gun today. I started to give it the new clean job. I bought some TC prelubed patches .45 to 58 cal. I ran one down the tube and two hours later with the help of two  yes two of my frinds. I finaly got it back out.Prety well chewed up the rod .I went with smaller and smaller patches and it was still very had work, much to hard. I know you guys are not fighting the thing like that or no one would be shooting BP. So what is the deal?

[Winter Hawk]

It sounds like your cleaning jag is a tad too large!  I use pieces of an old khaki shirt, cut to about 2" squares on my .45 and .54 rifles.  You might also want to consider getting a ball puller and/or a worm to remove any patches inadvertantly left down the bore.  But be sure to screw the cleaning jag on the rod, center your patch on the bore then run it up & down with the cleaning jag on the rod.

The TC prelubed patches are not for cleaning.  Well, I suppose they could be but they are laid across the muzzle after you drop the powder down, then the ball is put on the patch and the whole thing shoved down the barrel with the ramrod.  Put a cap on the nipple and you are ready to shoot.  Don't do this inside the house!

-Kees-

[Good time Charlie]

I wonderd about the jag but it came with with the gun.

[johnt]

New guns come with some really heavy grease in'm for shipping and storage. Ya gotta clean all that stuff out before ya shoot it or it get's really hard, plugs-up the rifling,then ya have trouble grouping proper.

Ya need a solvent.,,go back to the store and get some gun cleaning solvent,,if ya cain't do that then use your imagination,,what do you use to clean greasy/oil parts in that ya have ta hand? Find an old clean t-shirt and cut 2"x2" squares,,wet one with solvent and scrub the bore a few strokes,,throw that patch,,repeat about 15 times,(really) run a dry one down and back, then repeat again,, keep at it till patches come out clean.

The factory jag should work once the cosmoliene is out.

A new factory gun clean-up job for me is about 2 hr's.

[Flatlander.54]

Try a thinner patch with a 7:1 Pine-Sol/Alcohol cleaning mixture.
 
  If your patch material is too thick it will bind up when you go to pull it out of the bore. If it happens again, squirt a liberal amount of the cleaning mix down the bore and let it set a minute or so then try pulling it out again. I agree with keesvw also....the prelubed patches are not meant for cleaning....go with a good cleaning solvent instead.

[crow_feather]

Good Time Charlie,

Next time your ram rod is stuck, instead of grabbing it with pliers, get a strong leather thong, such as a boot lace.  There is a knot that you use to tie the thong to the ram rod that works real well, but darn if I can think of the name.  Tie the other end of the thong to the bumper of a 57 buick or any other such heavy object and pull hard on the rifle.  

This is after you use the advice of Flatlander.54 and get the material good and slicked up.

If nothin else works - many a person has unscrewed the rod, poured some 3f down the nipple channel and blowed the cleaning jag into the next county.

C F

[Will Bison]

Smaller jag will do it.

[simonkenton]

Get some JB bore paste and put it on the patches. Run it up and down the bore 50 times, this will clean out all that crud the factory puts in it.

[roberthonike]

I think I remember the knot as a spar hitch, but been a landlubber too many years now. I have been using citrus based cleaner for grease/cosmoline removal, they work well, and a nylon bristle brush should be all you need to break the crud so you can wipe it out.  

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[Good time Charlie]

Got the rod out! Used A bore compound on the thing and worked wonders. I think that knot is a rolling hitch. I am also an old sailor. I have the gun shooting quite well now. I have found a local guy that sells real black powder. I have been using triple seven.  It and all the other powders like it run around $25 a pound here. this guy has black for $15 a pound. He has elephant and goetex. Which would you try

[crow_feather]

Charlie,

I've always been partial to Goex, but the correct choice for you is whichever works best in your rifle.  Cost 15.00 more than you need to spend though unless some one at the range will buy what is left of one or the other.

Of course the other problem is what to use; 2f or 3f.  3f works best in my .54 and of course, once again, I prefer 3f, but:

Just take your time and enjoy the shooting - don't be in a big hurry finding all the answers - the fun is getting there. Best of luck.

C F

[HWooldridge]

I made a steel range rod from some 5/16 cold rolled steel and after drilling the hole larger, used a 1/4 brass pipe fitting as a muzzle protector.  I put an old shift knob on the other end to push on.

[roberthonike]

Real black powder, in the long run, has always been better for me than anything else. I don't mind the cleaning, love the smell, love the smoke. Have been known to cook a fresh squirrel on a stick, and salt it with a bit of real BP, or skewer some fresh caught crawdads, and do the same. Don't try that with plastic powder. Only flaw real BP has is it is not politically correct.
Until enough of us complain enough to get many stupid laws changed, it is going to get worse and worse. I boycott plastic powder, best I can. It has got to the point that Boy Scouts can shoot frontloaders, but only with plastic powder, and that is one Hell of a state of affairs.

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